


First Christmas

by ash_mcj



Series: The Gallagher-Milkovich Family [3]
Category: Shameless (US)
Genre: Christmas Eve, Domestic, Established Relationship, Family, Fluff, Gallavich, Love, Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-20
Updated: 2016-12-31
Packaged: 2018-09-10 14:29:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,975
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8920678
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ash_mcj/pseuds/ash_mcj
Summary: Christmas Eve and Christmas Day at the Gallagher-Milkovich household :)





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I wanted to show you guys what the first Christmas Eve and Christmas Day (next chapter) is like in the Gallagher-Milkovich household. I hope you enjoy reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it! This is not beta-read, so I'm sorry if there are spelling errors and stuff.
> 
> If you are unfamiliar with this series, the Gallagher-Milkovich household consists of all of the Gallaghers, plus Colin, Iggy, Mickey, Mandy, and Molly Milkovich, all living in the Gallagher house. Most of this is just some insight into all of the relationships in this crazy family.

The first thing Lip saw on the morning of Christmas Eve took his breath away. It didn’t matter how many times he woke up beside Mandy Milkovich, she would always manage to leave him awestruck. How had he gotten so lucky? She was so tough, yet so kind-hearted and beautiful--and she had no idea. He had treated her like shit and stepped all over her, but she took him back, and he didn’t know why. She shouldn’t be in his bed a year and a half after he broke her heart at her brother’s wedding, yet there she was.

He couldn’t help himself from leaning over and placing a soft kiss on her lips. She hummed happily and her blue eyes fluttered open to meet his. He smiled as he noticed how angelic she looked. An angel from Hell, but an angel nevertheless.

“Merry Christmas Eve.” he whispered, stroking her cheek with his fingertips. She reached up and intertwined their fingers, kissing his knuckles.

“Ditto.”

“You are gorgeous.” He told her.

“Shut up, Gallagher.” She rolled her eyes, sitting up. The blanket fell to her lap, exposing her naked torso and Lip again thanked whatever force influenced Mandy to give him another chance. “If you wanted to bang before breakfast, you could’ve just said so.”

“I’m serious.” Lip shook his head, sitting up with her. “You’re amazing, Mandy. You gave me another chance, when I really didn’t deserve it. If I were you, I would’ve left my sorry ass back in the dust, but you took me back. I don’t deserve you.”

“That’s what you do for people you love, I guess.” Mandy shrugged, a slight blush creeping over her cheeks. 

Six months prior, Mandy hated the older boy. While she was giving him everything, he was still caught up with Karen Jackson and then flipped his shit when she tried to help him with his schooling. She knew he was better than the South Side trash they all were--he could get out of there and never look back, if he got on the right track. Mandy knew that track was college, and she decided to help him because she cared about him. All she got in return was a fight and a broken heart, and she was sure that she would never let that ungrateful boy back into her life ever again. The only problem was that living in the same house with him and seeing him every day brought back a lot more old feelings than she had predicted. The truth was, she’d been in love with Phillip Gallagher since she was fifteen years old, and she’d never really gotten over him. He was the only boy she’d ever truly loved, after all.

“I love you, too, you know.” Lip told her.

Mandy froze, staring down at him wide-eyed. She tried to determine if she had just imagined it, or if he had really said the words she had been wanting to hear from him for years. The affectionate way he was staring at her suggested that it was the latter.

“Really?” She found herself asking.

“Yeah.” Lip smiled, looking down at their interlocked hands. “I’m sorry for not realizing this the first time around, but I know now that you are the best damn thing that has ever happened to me, and I appreciate you. I appreciate everything you’ve done for me.”

That’s all Mandy had ever wanted to hear from him. _I appreciate you. I love you._ She felt her chest tighten and she grabbed his face, pulling him in and kissing him. The kiss was passionate and intense, but it didn’t hold the usual hunger and lust. Their lips moved softly together, tongues dancing gracefully. They poured their hearts into that kiss, and for the first time in a long time, Mandy knew she was where she belonged. For her entire life, the idea of being loved by someone was a wonderful, unobtainable dream, but here he was. He was kissing her, loving her--he was her dream. 

They pulled away slightly, resting their foreheads together as they caught their breath.

“What’s got you so sentimental?” Mandy asked him.

“Christmas magic.” he joked, tilting her chin up to kiss her again. 

***

Like usual, Ian was up by 6:15, which left him about twenty-five minutes to make breakfast before Yevgeny would be up. The two year old woke up between 6:30 and 6:45 every day, and Ian was usually the one to get up with him. Mickey could rarely function if he had to wake up before 7:30. 

“This little guy was in my room again.” Debbie said, walking down the stairs with the blonde boy in her arms. “I think he’s trying to steal something in my closet--this is the third time this week he’s been in there when I woke up.”

“Sorry, Debs.” Ian laughed, holding his arms out to take Yevgeny. “You can go back to sleep.”

“I’m already awake,” she shrugged. “If you want to spend the morning with Mickey, I can take care of Yev. He’s starting to like Fiona more, and I need to reclaim my place as his favorite Gallagher Aunt.”

“Are you sure?” Ian said, handing her the bowl of sliced bananas he had just cut for him.

“Go be with your boyfriend, before I change my mind.” she sat down at the table. He didn’t wait for her to tell him again, he ran upstairs and locked his bedroom door, excited to get some alone time with Mickey, at last. Parenting sucked all of their free time away and they hadn’t had sex in almost a week. 

He jumped onto the bed beside him and flattened himself against the mattress as Mickey’s fists swung out frantically. When he seemed to realize where he was and the shock of being jolted awake wore off, he dug the heels of his hands into his eyes.

“Jesus fuck, Gallagher.” Mickey groaned. “You don’t wake people up like that. I could’ve taken your fucking head off.”

“Sorry.” Ian giggled, rolling on top of him. “Merry Christmas Eve.”

“I don’t understand your obsession with Christmas.” Mickey told him. “You get so excited and weird, the closer it gets.”

“C’mon, Mick, how could you _not_ like Christmas?” Ian gasped. “It’s my favorite time of year. Snow, Christmas movies, hot chocolate, Santa…”

“Cold, cheesy family movies, you can have hot chocolate literally any time of year, and damn, we have to do Santa shit for Yev for tomorrow morning, huh?”

“Yep.” Ian nodded.

“Where is that kid, anyway?”

“Debbie has him.” Ian smiled, leaning down to kiss him.

“You sayin’ we’re alone for the morning?” Mickey smirked, running his hands down Ian’s bare sides and slipping them under the waistband of his boxers to grab his butt.

“Mhmm.” Ian hummed, pushing his fingers through Mickey’s short black hair. 

Mickey grabbed Ian’s hips and flipped them over. He straddled the younger boy’s waist and grabbed a fistful of his red hair, pulling his head back and exposing his neck enough for Mickey to latch his mouth onto his skin. He sucked on Ian’s soft spot, eliciting a moan from him. Mickey shifted down to bite into his shoulder and drag his nails down his freckled chest, leaving eight red lines in their wake. Mickey was well-aware of what that did to him, so he couldn’t stop the smirk from playing across his lips when he heard him let out a low growl. He moved down further and licked just under his boyfriend’s collarbone, before biting the skin softly and dragging his nails across his abs. In a flash, Ian flipped them over and pinned Mickey to the mattress with his body. He ground his pelvis into the brunette and Mickey moaned.

Mickey decided this wasn’t a terrible way to be woken up, after all.

***

Molly grabbed the carton of orange juice from the refrigerator and set it on the counter. She reached up to grab a glass from the cabinet, when a hand clamped over her eyes and an arm wrapped around her waist. She touched the hand over her eyes and smiled, feeling the familiar scar on the knuckle of his middle finger.

She let him lead her into the downstairs bathroom a few feet away. His hand was removed from her eyes to lock the door behind them, and she grinned at him expectantly.

“Carl, how romantic. How did you know that I have a bathroom kink?” Molly joked. He rolled his eyes and pointed upwards, where a piece of mistletoe was stuck to the ceiling with duct tape.

“I wonder how that got there.” She smirked, draping her arms around his neck. His arms wrapped around her waist and pulled her against him.

“Must be elves. Christmas magic.” Carl smiled, leaning in to press an open-mouthed kiss to her lips.

Her hand moved up to twist in the shaggy hair at the base of his skull and pulled him as close to her as she could. The kiss began escalating rather quickly, and Molly pulled away, knowing that they couldn't go too far in the downstairs bathroom with their families right outside the door. 

“We should be getting back out there. They're gonna start the movie soon, which means it's only a matter of time before they come looking for us.” Molly told him, breathing deeply. “Finding us in a locked bathroom together won't look too good.”

“I don't want to go out there.” Carl complained, keeping his tight grip on her waist. “I won't be able to kiss or touch you around the others, and you look sexy as hell in that dress. I knew you would when I bought it. I was right.”

“Carl, _you're_ the one stopping us from being public.” She rolled her eyes. “You can change that whenever you feel like it.”

“I know.” He sighed. “I just don't know how or when to tell people. I doubt Debbie or Liam will care, and Ian and Mickey already know, but how will Fiona and Lip react when they find out that _two_ of their brothers like dick?”

“They didn't care when Mickey and Ian came out as gay. They didn't care when I came out as Trans. I really don't think they'll care when you come out as Pansexual.” Molly assured him. She took his face in her hands and touched their foreheads together, closing her eyes. “We’ll stay in secret for as long as you need, Carl, but I don't think they’ll care. If anything, you're gonna have to deal with Colin and Mickey giving you the don't-hurt-my-sister speech. They're protective.”

“Yeah, Mickey already threatened to skin me alive, if I ever hurt you.” Carl laughed. “I told him and Ian about us a few months ago.”

Molly nodded and ran her fingers through his hair soothingly. “You'll figure out when the right time to tell everyone is, and when you do, I'll be there. For now, we should join our families on Christmas Eve.”

Carl released Molly’s waist and followed her out into the living room, where Ian was swaying drunkenly and singing along very loudly to ‘Santa Baby’. Debbie, Liam, Iggy, and Yevgeny sat on one couch, watching the redhead stumble around clumsily. On the other couch, watching him amusedly, was Mickey. Ian was serenading him in a very out-of-tune, terrible way that Mickey seemed to like, judging from the wide grin stretched across his face. 

“Smile any wider, and your face is going to rip in two.” Molly teased her brother, plopping down beside him on the couch. Carl took his place on her other side.

“Shut the fuck up, this is hilarious.” Mickey pointed at his boyfriend, who nearly toppled into the Christmas tree, but righted himself at the last second.

As everyone chuckled, watching Ian make a laughing, dancing, drunken, mess of himself in the living room, Carl discreetly reached over and took Molly’s hand. Molly didn't look at him, knowing that he didn't want to draw attention to it, but she couldn't stop the smile from sneaking onto her face.

Carl tried to, but he was never able to resist watching her whenever she smiled like that. Her eyes crinkled slightly and lit up, and her perfectly-shaped white teeth were beautiful. _She_ was beautiful, inside and out. Nine months prior, Carl didn't plan to fall this hard for the youngest Milkovich. It just...happened. She supported all of his crazy antics--hell, she helped with most of them--and she never compared him to his siblings. She didn't tell him to be smarter like Lip, or braver like Ian, or more mature like Fiona. She liked him for who he was, and who he was, was enough for her. He had never been enough for anyone before. 

***

“Santa cutie, and hurry down the chimney tonight.” Fiona sang into her beer bottle, like it was a microphone. 

Colin watched her clumsily dance around the kitchen, much like Ian was doing in the living room. The aroma from the chocolate chip cookies in the oven filled the kitchen and the sound of the loud music was resonating throughout all of downstairs. Fiona grabbed a Santa hat off the counter and put it on Colin’s head. He hadn’t even realized that he had been smiling, until Fiona gasped and stopped singing.

“Do my eyes deceive me, or is Colin Milkovich _smiling_?” Fiona said, staring at him astonishingly. “It’s a Christmas miracle!” Fiona giggled as she stumbled to over to the door and opened it, shouting, “CHICAGO, COLIN MILKOVICH IS SM--”

Colin wrapped an arm around her waist and picked her up, bringing her back inside and locking the door, before setting her down. “You are really something, Fiona Gallagher.”

“Yes, and that something is very, very drunk.” Fiona nodded, laughing. “C’mon, Colin, loosen up. It’s Christmas Eve.”

“Why are we partying the day _before_ Christmas, anyway?”

Fiona looked thoughtful for a second, before shrugging. “For as long as I can remember, the drinking and the partying starts the night of Christmas Eve and ends when everyone is passed out drunk Christmas night. What can I say? Gallaghers like to party.”

“It’s not even eight, and you’re already shitfaced.” Colin told her.

“Thank God it’s still early; I have a lot of dance left in me.” Fiona laughed, swaying back and forth as ‘All I want for Christmas is you’ started playing in the other room.

She took his hand and raised it above her head. He grinned and spun her around a few times, making her squeal as she lost her balance and fell into him. He held onto her for a few seconds, before she regained her balance.

“I’m good, I’m good.” she assured him.

“You sure?” He smirked. “You’re lookin’ a little tipsy.”

“IAN!” Debbie screamed from the living room, before sounds of glass shattering filled the room.

“We should go investigate.” Fiona suggested, walking towards the noise, Colin right at her heels.

Ian was sitting on Mickey’s lap, both of them laughing hysterically. The latter’s arms were wrapped securely around the younger boy’s waist, holding him against him. The only person not laughing was Debbie, who was on the floor, picking up some of the larger shards of broken ornaments under the still-swaying Christmas tree.

“What happened?” Fiona asked, looking around.

“Ian was dancing and serenading Mickey, and he fell into the Christmas tree.” Molly explained, looking over at the redhead in her brother’s lap.

“Fiona, Colin!” Ian exclaimed. He tried to stand up, but Mickey held him firmly.

“You’re not sober enough to be trusted to walk on your own right now; you’ve caused enough trouble.” Mickey told him. “You’ve lost the privilege to get up.”

“I’ve only had two beers, Mick.” Ian argued. “You just like me on your lap.”

“Your meds make you get shitfaced in 0.2 seconds flat. You really should’ve stopped after one beer.” 

Ian huffed in annoyance, but stopped trying to stand up. He shifted so that he was sitting sideways on Mickey’s lap, and turned his attention back to Fiona and Colin. “You two have to kiss; you’re standing under a mistletoe.”

“The kid’s right.” Fiona said, looking up at the plant above their heads. She wiggled her eyebrows suggestively and gave the oldest Milkovich a playful smirk. “Looks like we’re gonna have to kiss.”

“You guys seriously do that mistletoe shit?” Colin rolled his eyes. Did he want to kiss her? _Hell yes._ She was beautiful, responsible, resourceful, kind--you couldn’t find a much better girl on the South Side--and he had been fighting his growing feelings for her for almost two months. He didn’t have stupid school-girl crushes and he didn’t do relationships, so he sure as hell fought those feelings when they started to arise. He knew that if he kissed her right then, he wouldn’t be able to suppress them any longer. His own inner battles aside, Milkoviches didn’t just kiss people. They fucked like rabbits, but they almost never kissed anyone. It was like a commitment for them, an act of truly caring for the person they were kissing. It showed an emotional attachment most of them didn’t want. Kissing was something Milkoviches did not take lightly, and he knew that his siblings were curiously watching him to see what he would do.

“Yeah, we do that mistletoe shit. Unless, you’re _scared_.” Fiona taunted, pulling him from his thoughts. He reached out and grabbed her waist, pulling her against him so their faces were only inches away from each other. He could feel Fiona holding her breath.

“I’m not scared.” He said under his breath, so only she could hear. “Are _you_?”

Colin wasn’t sure who closed the distance, but suddenly, they were kissing. Her tongue swept over his bottom lip and he opened his mouth, allowing her access. His hands disappeared into her wild hair, and hers explored the tight muscles of his abs, hungrily. Colin was taken by surprise when she shoved him backwards into the wall and thrust her tongue into his mouth, taking dominance of the kiss and quite literally taking his breath away. When she finally pulled back, he stared at her, dazed.

 _Holy fuck_ , he thought. _What just happened_?

“I think it’s safe to say that I won.” She said under her breath. “Maybe my tongue is just stronger than yours.”

Colin raised his eyebrows at the innuendo. “Don’t be so sure.”

“Well...If you want a rematch later, you know where to find me.” She winked, walking over to take a seat in one of the chairs by the tree.

Everyone stared, slack-jawed at them. Nobody expected _that_ to happen. 

“Not even gonna lie, that was pretty hot.” Mandy commented, appearing at the base of the stairs, with Lip in tow.

“What is it with Milkoviches and Gallaghers?” Debbie shook her head. “They just can’t keep their hands off each other.”

“I don’t like any of you.” Iggy shrugged. “I mean, you guys are chill, but I’d rather not fuck you. You’re all batshit crazy.”

“Ditto.” Debbie said, sitting beside him on the couch after throwing the glass shards in the trash.

“I want to know why the only way to get a Milkovich man to kiss you is to say that they’re scared.” Ian commented, looking over at Mickey.

“Shut the fuck up, Firecrotch.” Mickey smiled, pulling the redhead in for a kiss.

“Movie!” Yevgeny said excitedly, sliding off Iggy’s lap and grabbing the DVD case off of coffee table.

“Good idea, Yevy, let’s start the movie.” Debbie nodded, taking it from him and putting the disc into the DVD player.

“I love this movie.” Ian sighed happily, sliding off of Mickey’s lap and curling into his side. Molly had to scoot closer to Carl to make room for Ian, but neither had a problem with that. 

“This movie is stupid.” Mickey rolled his eyes. “Grumpy green guy steals the presents of the overly-happy fuckin’ alien-lookin’ people. He gives the presents back. Movie over.”

“You have a thing for alien-lookin’ people, though.” Iggy told him. “I recall you saying something along the lines of ‘I like fuckin’ carrot tops. With the freckles and the pale skin...fuckin’ alien-lookin.’ a few years back, at the Alibi.”

“That sounds like something you’d say, Mick.” Ian smiled at him. Mickey flipped him off.

“Can we just watch the fuckin’ movie already?” Mickey grumbled. Ian laced their fingers together and kissed the top of his boyfriend’s hand, before looking back at the screen.

Molly took a cupcake from the platter on the coffee table and bit into it, managing to get green frosting all over the tip of her nose.

“You got a little somethin’ there…” Carl laughed, pointing at her nose.

“Is it frosting?” She assumed, bringing her fingers up to touch it. She put the frosting-covered digit in her mouth and sucked on it, making Carl bite his lip. “Did I get it?”

“Not quite.” Carl said. He reached over and wiped the rest off, before putting his finger into his own mouth, humming at the sweet taste. She blushed and looked down. He smiled at his girlfriend and realized that he had no reason to hide her. He wasn’t ashamed of her in the slightest, and he knew that his family wouldn’t disown him or anything. She made him happy, and he was done hiding her. “Your nose is still kinda green...I think it’s stained.”

“Shut up; no it isn’t.” she whispered, searching his blue eyes for any indicators that he was joking. “Is my nose really green? Tell me the truth.”

“Don’t worry, I’ve got it.” Carl smirked mischievously, before quickly leaning over and licking the tip of her nose, making her hiss and push him away.

“Ew, Carl, what the hell?” she wiped the spit off on the collar of his shirt.

“The green is off.” Carl told her. She elbowed him in the side and he put his arm around her, pulling her against him. She wrapped her arms around his waist and snuggled into his chest. 

It was no secret that Carl loved to annoy her. He thought it was adorable, the way she would purse her lips and glare at him. She didn’t find it quite as adorable, most times. Not that she didn’t annoy him just as much. She loved the way the muscles in his jaw would tighten and how his biceps looked as he crossed his arms over his chest. She thought it was sexy as hell.

Mickey looked over at Carl and gave him an approving smile, before returning his attention to the movie and absentmindedly running his fingers through his now-sleeping boyfriend’s red hair.

“Um,” Lip said, sniffing the air. “Is something burning?”

“Oh fuck!” Fiona yelled, jumping up and drunkenly running into the kitchen. “The cookies!”

Colin quickly followed her in, knowing that a drunk Fiona should not be messing with the oven. He grabbed the stained oven mitts on the counter and removed the tray of burned cookies from the oven, setting them on the stovetop to cool off. He threw the mitts aside and fanned the smoke in front of his face with his hand, coughing.

“When did that happen?” Fiona whispered, peering into the other room and staring at Carl, who was rubbing Molly’s shoulder soothingly with his thumb.

“I saw them making out at the park down the street like six months ago, so at least since then.” Colin shrugged. “Probably longer.”

“Carl knows she has a dick, right?” Fiona asked.

“I can’t imagine he wouldn’t. They are fifteen...I’m pretty sure they are well-aware of each other’s genitals.” 

“Oh, God. Please, don’t make me picture our siblings fucking.” She complained, dragging her hands down her face. “I hope they’re using protection.”

“We could get them condoms for Christmas.” Colin suggested, jokingly. “Problem solved.”

“I’m down, if you are.” Fiona said, a flicker of amusement in her brown eyes.

“A chance to embarrass the fuck outta our siblings? Fuck yeah, I’m down.”


	2. Chapter 2

Ian’s phone buzzed on the nightstand beside his head at four, waking him up. Unlike Mickey and Yevgeny, who could sleep through just about anything, Ian was an extremely light sleeper. Everything woke him up. There were times when this was annoying (like when Yev has a cold and every time he coughs, Ian gets woken up), but there were times like this, where he was grateful that the vibrations of his phone on his nightstand would easily wake him, while leaving the toddler asleep.

“Mick, wake up.” Ian whispered, kissing his boyfriend’s forehead and gentling shaking his shoulder.

Mickey turned over, burying his face in his pillow. He said something, but Ian couldn’t understand his muffled words.

“What’s that, mumbles?” Ian smirked.

“That’s _your_ gay ass nickname, not mine.” Mickey told him quietly, turning his face to look at the redhead. “The fuckin’ sun isn’t even up, Ian.”

“We have Santa stuff to take care of, so get your ass up.” Ian said, swinging his legs over the side of the bed and standing up.

“Santa is overrated.” Mickey grumbled. “If you ask me, I think it’s messed up that we lie to the kid, but raise him to not lie to us. It’s hypocritical.”

“Good thing I didn’t ask you.” Ian said, pulling on a pair of sweatpants over his boxers. He threw a pair at Mickey as well, who didn’t bother catching them.

“My family never had this shit, and we all turned out fine.” Mickey reasoned.

“You, Colin, Molly, Iggy, and Mandy had to move into my house, because your family was going to kill you for being gay, and the others for supporting you. You were all raised in a very abusive house by your crazy father. I’d say that you guys weren’t fine until you didn’t have to _fear for your life_ , and moved here. Also, you say that Yevgeny shouldn’t grow up with Santa because _Terry_ didn’t do Santa stuff with you guys? We are justifying what counts as good parenting and happy childhood experiences for Yev, based on _Terry_?”

“Okay, fuck, I’m getting up.” Mickey sighed, standing up and putting on the pair of Ian’s sweatpants he had thrown at him earlier.

Mickey followed Ian down the hall to Fiona’s room, where the Santa presents were hidden in her closet. Since they already had to do Yevgeny’s, they agreed to take care of Liam’s, as well.

As they pushed open the door, their eyes immediately flew to the bed, curiously taking in the tangled position of their sleeping oldest siblings. They were as naked as the day they were born, with the white sheet draped across their waists. Fiona was laying on her stomach, her head resting on Colin’s chiseled chest, while his arm was wrapped around her, holding her against him. A faint smile graced both of their sleeping faces, and Mickey didn’t think he had ever seen his brother so... _peaceful_. There really was something about the Gallaghers that the Milkoviches were undeniably drawn to.

Ian quietly made his way over to the closet and pulled out two black garbage bags, each labeled with a name written sloppily across a piece of silver duct tape. He handed Yevgeny’s bag to Mickey, while Ian carried Liam’s.

Once they made it downstairs, they began setting everything up. There weren’t many presents to set out--money was always stretched pretty thin with eleven mouths to feed in the house--but the kids were never disappointed. Ian put Liam’s new coloring book, two action figures, and box of crayons out in front of the tree. After rearranging them until he decided they looked presentable enough, he looked over at Mickey. Mickey had stacked Yev’s four new picture books up like a tower, with a small plush tiger sitting on top.

“Merry Christmas, Baby.” Ian smiled, wrapping his arms around Mickey from behind, and lowering his head down to kiss the side of his neck.

“Fuck you, Gallagher; don’t call me that fairy shit.” Mickey complained, reaching around his back and pulling his boyfriend closer against him. “Merry Christmas or whatever.”

Ian smiled against his neck, and held onto him for a few seconds, before detaching himself from the shorter man and walking over to the coffee table. He grabbed a couple chocolate chip cookies off the small plate sitting there, and gave one to Mickey. They stood there, eating their cookies in silence and looking at the Christmas tree.

If you had told Mickey back when he was seventeen and started fucking the redhead, that in only a few years, he and Ian would be setting up Santa presents for their son and living together, he would have said you were out of your mind. He probably would have decked you, as well, for implying that he was gay.

“The fuck are the carrots for?” Mickey asked, noticing the plate of carrots next to the cookies. “Is Santa on a diet or some shit?”

Ian laughed and grabbed one of them. “It’s for the reindeer. They fly all over the world in one night--they deserve a snack, don’t you think?”

“Oh, yeah, dragging Santa’s fat ass around all night must really work up an appetite.” Mickey laughed. Ian held the carrot up to Mickey’s mouth and Mickey ducked away from it.

“C’mon, Mick, it has to look eaten.”

“I like carrot-tops, not carrots.” Mickey said, shaking his head. “You eat it.”

Mickey took the carrot from his boyfriend’s hand and pushed it into his mouth. A mischievous glint flashed through Ian’s eyes, causing Mickey to cock an eyebrow at him. The younger man wrapped his tongue around the carrot and sucked it into his mouth, slightly bobbing his head as he took the vegetable deeper into his mouth, never breaking eye contact with Mickey.

“Ian,” Mickey warned, watching him.

Ian licked the tip of the carrot and sucked it back into his mouth. When it hit the back of his throat, he moaned, successfully ignoring his gag reflex. He had to fight the urge to grin triumphantly when he saw Mickey’s pants looking tighter.

“Fuck, Ian.” Mickey growled, pulling the carrot away and tossing it back onto the plate. “Unless you want to blow me where our kid is gonna be opening presents in like an hour, you need to knock it the fuck off.”

“ _Our_ kid?” Ian smiled, realizing what Mickey had said.

“Yeah, I mean...How I see it, he’s as much yours, as mine. You’ve been around since he was born and have always taken care of him even more than I have. Besides, if it wasn’t for you, he wouldn’t even exist.” Mickey shrugged.

If Terry hadn’t caught Ian balls-deep in Mickey’s ass those couple years ago, Svetlana wouldn’t have been called, and Yevgeny would never have been born. It was a very fucked-up way of looking at it, but Ian actually _was_ part of the conception, in a way.

“We should probably try to get some sleep; Yev will be up soon.” Ian said.

“Then what’s the point of sleeping? I bet we could figure out something way better to do for an hour.” Mickey suggested, wrapping his arms around Ian’s neck.

“Our room has a two year old in it.” Ian reminded him, but found his hands taking their place at Mickey’s hips anyway.

“We could take a shower before going back to bed.” Mickey whispered, kissing Ian’s exposed collarbone. He slid his hand down Ian’s body, stopping at the edge of his sweatpants and slipping his fingers under the waistband.

“Fuck, all right.” Ian breathed. He took Mickey’s hand and pulled him upstairs, all but sprinting to the bathroom.

***

“Wake up, wake up, wake up!” Yevgeny demanded, hitting the mattress. Ian, without opening his eyes, reached over and pulled the little blonde boy onto the bed, knowing that he was too short to be able to climb up there by himself.

“I’m awake.” Ian assured him.

“Show me your eyes.” Yev told him, straddling his chest. Whenever Ian was trying to wake Mickey up and Mickey would tell him that he was awake, Ian would tell him to show him his eyes. If he didn’t open his eyes, he was going to go back to sleep, no matter how many times he assured Ian that he wasn’t. Then, whenever Ian needed medication adjustments and fell into his depressions, Mickey started asking to see _his_ eyes. It was his way of knowing if Ian was going to be okay when things were looking bad. Those four words held a variety of meanings in their little family, and Ian found it cute that the toddler had picked up on them.

Ian opened his eyes and sat up, making Yev squeal as he fell backwards onto Ian’s lap.

“Good morning, Monkey.” Ian told him.

“It’s Christmas today!” Yev exclaimed.

“I know,” Ian laughed. “Do you think Santa came last night?”

Yevgeny nodded his head excitedly. “I heard--I heard da deers go NIEGHHHH!”

Mickey woke up to the high-pitched sound of his son...actually, he had no idea what his son was doing. Maybe he was trying to be a horse? Mickey looked over at them and smiled. Yev was sitting in Ian’s lap, talking animatedly about the deer he heard downstairs the previous night. Their family of three was unplanned, slightly dysfunctional, and stemmed from something horrible and ugly, but Mickey wouldn’t trade it for anything. It was as close to perfect as a couple of gay guys living on the South Side of Chicago in a small house trying to fit twelve dysfunctional people, could be.

“You heard reindeer, huh?” Mickey asked him, sitting up.

“Mhmm.” Yev said. “And bells.”

“Wow.” Ian said, feigning belief. “How many do you think were downstairs?”

“Um,” Yev seemed to think for a moment, before deciding, “like one hundred.”

“That’s a shit ton of reindeer in the living room.” Mickey laughed.

“Yevy, why don’t you go wake up your Aunt Molly and Aunt Debbie?” Ian suggested. Yevgeny quickly slid off the bed and took off, his small feet making slight pitter-patter sounds as he ran.

Mickey laid back down and buried himself under the blankets.

“Mick, what are you doing?” Ian chuckled, looking down at him.

“It’s fucking freezing, man.” Mickey complained. “How are you not cold?”

“I’m warm-blooded. C’mere,” Ian told him, sliding over and pulling him against his body. As soon as Ian’s bare torso was pressed against Mickey’s, the latter felt a wave of warmth wash over him.

“You’re so clingy.” Mickey rolled his eyes, acting like the cuddling was annoying him. Ian knew it wasn’t, because the smaller man didn’t make any move to pull away, and he also knew that the thug was a closeted cuddler. He tucked his face into the crook of Mickey’s neck and deeply inhaled, breathing in his scent. “Gallagher, you’re smellin’ me again.”

“Mhm.” Ian hummed, nuzzling his nose into his boyfriend’s skin. “I like how you smell.”

“Whatever.” Mickey said. He absently stroked Ian’s hair and smiled--secretly, of course--as he heard him inhale against his neck again.

***

Carl felt his mattress dip under the weight of another person and grinned as the familiar scent of lavender filled his nose.

Molly’s shampoo.

“Morning, Baby.” Carl said.

“Merry Christmas.” she told him, intertwining their fingers together.

Carl opened his eyes and leaned in to kiss her, but she put her free hand on his chest and pushed him back.

“Brush your teeth first, Sick-o. I’ll kiss you when you don’t have morning breath.” Molly giggled. “Meet me downstairs.”

***

As soon as everyone was downstairs, Yev and Liam ran to their presents excitedly.

“Look, Santa bringed me a tiger!” Yev exclaimed, holding it up for everyone to see.

“That’s a pretty cool tiger, Yev.” Mandy acknowledged him.

“Mhm.” Yev hummed, looking at the stuffed animal and then up to Ian and Mickey on the couch. “My tiger looks like Daddy and Een.”

“Your tiger looks like us?” Mickey asked, cocking an eyebrow at his son.

“Yes.” Yev nodded. “He has orange hair, like Een, and black hair, like you.”

“You’re right, Monkey.” Ian laughed. “What else did Santa bring you?”

“Books!” Yevgeny squealed, plopping down next to the small stack. The excitement of the tiger had previously prevented him from noticing his other presents, but he certainly noticed them now. He sat there, looking through the colorful pages and tracing the words he could not-yet read with his fingers.

“I feel like he talks way more than a two year old should be able to.” Mickey commented. “The kid rarely even stops to breathe.”

“He’s a smart kid.” Ian shrugged. “He has a lot to say.”

“I think it’s because you read with him so much. He’s the only Milkovich I’ve known to actually enjoy reading. I’m not even sure if Joey _can_ read.”

“Maybe if we keep him hooked on books, he’ll actually graduate high school.”

“I’ll believe it when I see it.”

“I got us a present, but it’s not very family-friendly, so I left it upstairs.” Ian whispered.

“Me too. There are handcuffs hidden under the bed.” Mickey smirked.

“You bought us handcuffs?” Ian smiled excitedly.

“Merry Christmas, Firecrotch.” Mickey nodded.

Ian leaned in, kissed directly under Mickey’s ear, dropped his voice down a few octaves in the way he knew went straight to Mickey’s dick, and said, “I think we should ask Iggy to take Yev for an hour so we can try out those handcuffs with the blindfold and cock ring I bought us.”

Mickey visibly shivered and grabbed Ian’s upper thigh. “Fuck, man. Two hours would be better.”

“Yo, Love Birds, we’ll get the fuckin’ hose if we have to.” Iggy said from across the room, watching the encounter. “There are kids here; keep it in your pants.”

Mickey glared, obviously annoyed, while Ian just simply laughed and pulled away from Mickey a little bit. This also frustrated the Milkovich.

“Carl and Molly, Colin and I have a present for you two.” Fiona said, holding a box out to them. The two teenagers shared a confused look, before Carl took the box. It only took a couple seconds after opening it, for both of them to turn bright red and for Carl to hide it in his lap.

“Wait, were those condoms?” Lip asked, a grin spreading across his face.

“Colin and I just wanted to make sure you guys were being safe.” Fiona said, fighting to keep the smile off her face.

Everyone broke out laughing, except the mortified couple, who were looking at the ground and getting increasingly red as time passed.

“What’s a condom?” Liam asked after everyone calmed down.

“Uh,” Fiona said, not wanting to give her four year old the sex talk quite yet.

Mickey seemed to sense her distress, because he said, “It’s like a special type of glove that only teenagers and adults get to wear. You’ll see when you’re older.”

Liam nodded, accepting this explanation, and Fiona shot Mickey an appreciative look.

“Een?” Yev asked, walking up to Ian and handing him _The Little Engine That Could_. “Can you read please?”

“Sure, Monkey.” Ian smiled, lifting Yev up onto his lap and taking the book from him.

Fiona smiled at the little family her younger brother had made for himself. How he had managed to wrap a thug like Mickey around his finger, and help raise his son in a neighborhood like theirs, she didn’t know, but she was happy for them. He and Mickey had been a thing for a little over three years--only official for one and a half, but still--which was longer than any of her relationships had ever been.

She looked around at all of the happy faces in her living room. Carl and Molly had recovered from their embarrassment and were playing with each other’s fingers in the corner of the room. Carl kept bringing her hand up and kissing it, or leaning over to peck her nose, making her laugh and blush. Fiona could see the affection in his eyes for the girl he was with, and smiled. Mandy was sitting in Lip’s lap and he kept poking her ribs and making her jump, until she elbowed him in the stomach and he decided to stop. Even Iggy and Debbie had formed some sort of friendship over the past year that the Milkoviches had lived there, which nobody expected, because Iggy didn’t like people. They were almost always together, either playing cards or talking or arguing over chores. Since they were Liam and Yev’s most frequent babysitters, everyone found that Iggy had a soft spot for kids. He volunteered to babysit quite often, because he genuinely enjoyed the innocent company of the children. He much rather deal with a broken crayon, than a drug deal gone wrong or somebody getting shot, which were most of his encounters with adults. He just didn’t like older people or care about any of their shit.

Fiona felt Colin squeeze her hand and she looked up at him.

“What are you thinking about?” he asked her, noticing the small grin playing at her lips as she looked around the room.

“Nothing...everyone is just so happy. After everything our families have been through, it’s nice to see so many smiles, y’know?”

What was Fiona thinking about? She was thinking about how letting the Milkoviches move in earlier that year had been one of the best decisions she had ever made. Everyone was happy. The twelve of them actually made a pretty great family. A very cramped, dysfunctional family, but a family nonetheless.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed this!
> 
> Kudos and (nice) comments are really appreciated!


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